It has long been recognised that the development of body malodour is at least partly due to bacterial action on the products of the sweat glands. Washing with a detergent, for example in the form of a personal washing bar such as a soap bar, removes malodorous products and reduces the concentration of bacteria on the skin. Complete elimination of bacteria cannot usually be achieved by this means, and in any case it is not usually convenient to wash the skin, particularly the axillae where body malodour development is most likely to originate, repeatedly or at regular intervals during the day when physical exercise which induces sweating is likely to lead to conditions which suit the accumulation of body malodour materials.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide continuous protection against the development of body malodour when washing was not feasible or convenient.
Personal deodorant products in the form of aerosol sprays, roll-ball and sticks, are available to combat this problem, but as with personal washing, such products must be applied to the skin, particularly the axillae at regular intervals if the development of body malodour is to be prevented. Many of the commercially available personal products of this type are however of limited effectiveness or suffer from certain drawbacks. As an example, when such products contain a germicide as the deodorant active material for reducing the bacterial load on the skin which would otherwise give rise to body malodour, staining of clothing adjacent the treated skin can occur.
It would therefore be advantageous if prolonged protection against the development of body malodour could be provided without the need to wash repeatedly or apply a personal deodorant product to the skin at frequent intervals.
It has now been discovered that protection against the development of body malodour can be achieved by treating garments intended to be worn in contact with the skin with a special perfume which is described herein as a deodorant perfume.